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# Part of evolution
- URL: https://www.gilespcroft.com/part-of-evolution/
- Published: 2025-03-16T07:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-03T16:04:39.000Z
- Description: Change is inevitable – and we're very much part of that 💗
- Author: Giles P Croft
- Tags: Life change, IMPLICATIONS, Mental Health, Nature & Outdoors, Principles, Real stories, Resilience, Sunday Spiritual

A client and I were talking the other day about fear and the conditioned mind, and how there’s this common sense narrative (that I trot out all the time) about the conditioned, fear-based mind being a hangover from the cave-dwelling days.

Back then it made sense to live in fear, because physical survival depended on it (and physical survival is the ace card: the organism’s prime directive).

When food was scarce, predators freely roamed the earth and the neighbouring tribe wanted to boil your head, there were many ways a human’s life could end, so fear evolved.

😨

These days, wars and ethnic cleansing aside, life’s much more predictable, and death comes to us almost exclusively via non-communicable, non-violent causes, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes etc. (You can click on the small image below to get to a larger version online, if you’re curious.)

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2026/03/2025-03-16-Part-of-evolution_insert.png)](https://ourworldindata.org/cdn-cgi/imagedelivery/qLq-8BTgXU8yG0N6HnOy8g/f96f15b2-9841-488b-1c5f-ff556bf2d700/w=1350?ref=gilespcroft.com)

Source: [Our World in Data – Causes of Death](https://ourworldindata.org/causes-of-death?ref=gilespcroft.com)

*(So yeah – eat your veg and quit smoking!)*

Anyway, given this fairly obvious evolution of our species’ physicality, my client’s question was an understandable one, about why our psychology is so slow to catch up:

> *“Why haven’t we evolved beyond this need to fear for our physical safety?”*

🤔

## Evolution vs. Revolution

I suppose firstly, evolution takes a very, very long time indeed, and generally speaking such changes don’t happen in such a “short” period of time.

But then I remembered a fascinating part of Jamie Smart’s book, [*Results*](https://amzn.to/3FstlAL?ref=gilespcroft.com)*,* where he talks about the nature of revolution, which is *fast* change.

To massively over-simplify, big societal shifts come along to solve an existing problem, inadvertently **creating new problems** in the process. And so it continues.

So, for example:

#### **The Agricultural Revolution**

- Stabilised food supply and allowed large groups to settle together, ***and…***
- Started us down the path of inequality and introduced communicable disease.

#### **The Industrial Revolution**

- Increased standards of living and production of goods for the growing population, ***and…***
- Began pollution of the atmosphere and facilitated warfare on an industrial scale.

#### **The Information Revolution**

- Improved communication and access to information for all, ***and…***
- Ironically bred disconnection, overwhelm, attention poverty, and chronic mental stress.

These sorts of behavioural changes happen much quicker (**Germ Theory**, for instance, took hold in a mere 50 years, *completely* changing the course of our species in that time), and I suppose where I’m going with this, is…

What’s to say that you—here on this email list—aren’t part of the next step in human evolution?

Right now?

🤔

## The Thought Revolution

Look at the world’s ills: as far as I can tell, they ALL stem from the [outside-in misunderstanding](https://www.gilespcroft.com/inside-out/) (i.e. the mistaken belief that our felt experience of life could come from anywhere other than Thought taking form, moment to moment).

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2026/03/Outside-in-thinking_banner.jpg)](https://www.gilespcroft.com/inside-out//)

All of your weird behaviours, unwanted habits and occasionally thoughtless actions stem from this one, simple misunderstanding.

All of *my* weird behaviours, unwanted habits and occasionally thoughtless actions stem from this one, simple misunderstanding.

🤷🏻‍♂️

And everyone else’s, the world over. Leaders, politicians, decision-makers – we’re ALL walking around in this innocent misunderstanding… and seeing the consequences play out.

But things are changing.

*We* are changing. And there’s nothing standing in the way of us seeing *through* this trick of the mind, and reaping the rewards.

There’s a piece I wrote, a few years ago, that concluded:

> *“I am hopeful for the future and you should be, too. Humanity’s long slumber is coming to an end and we are waking up to our true nature…”*

So, what if it is indeed darkest before the dawn?

And what’s to say we’re not on the cusp of a huge shift? That our collective misery and the ‘tsunami’ of mental health problems aren’t the *very impetus we need*, to wake up?

🤔

Sure, we don’t know what ‘problems’ will arise as a *result* of such a **Thought Revolution**, but let’s go one step at a time, eh?

Let’s wake up first.

I’m glad you’re here with me on this journey.

💟

Giles